The present invention relates to an electrode structure and applicator for inserting a bipolar electrode structure through the vagina and cervix of a woman in labor and attaching it to the epidermis of a fetus. The electrode structure is designed to be operatively connected to an amplifier and a cardiotachometer for recording the fetal electrocardiogram and heart rate during labor and delivery.
For over seventy years monitoring of fetal heart rate has been one of the important procedures in the management of labor. Recently, a number of electronic techniques have been developed for continuous recording of this data. Currently, the most successful techniques for fetal heart rate monitoring employ electrodes attached directly to the fetus.
U.S. Pat. No. Re. 28,990 is directed to an electrode structure which is believed to be the most effective type employed today in the monitoring of fetal heart rate. The state of the art prior to the development of the device disclosed in that patent is amply illustrated in the references cited during the prosecution of the application for that patent and those described in Column 1 of the patent.
The present invention represents an improvement over the invention of U.S. Pat. No. Re 28,990. The device of the present invention is, in short, safer, easier and more reliable to use. It is believed that the advantages of the present invention may be more readily appreciated following a review of the preferred embodiments described below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Accordingly, these advantages are discussed after the following specification, prior to the claims.